


Out of Time

by BirdLover345



Series: One-shots [2]
Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Magic, Major Character Injury, Platonic Female/Female Relationships, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:34:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28460967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirdLover345/pseuds/BirdLover345
Summary: After Cleo encounters a group of glitched zombies, she realizes that she doesn't have very much time left.Written based on the prompt "time".
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: One-shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1876789
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Out of Time

Night has fallen over the server. Most of the hermits are probably asleep in their bases already. I, however, Zombie Cleo, have the misfortune of being lost 3000 blocks away from spawn.

Why am I here, you wonder? Well, Joe had lost one of his dogs, and being the person that he is, convinced me to go and get it. Not sure why I keep letting myself get roped into his shenanigans. Oh well. Back to why I'm here.

I went out to where the dog's last known location was, and after some searching, found a trail that went into these woods. I ran deeper into the woods, but then I lost the path. Now here I am.

4000 blocks from spawn.

At night.

Alone.

 _This is fine,_ I try to tell myself. I survey the area, trying to get an idea of where I came from. All I see, however, is trees, stretching as far as I can see. When I entered the forest, the sun had pierced through the canopies, illuminating the ground below me as the animals went about their day.

Now, however, with the sun naught but a speck on the horizon, the forest feels foreboding. There is no sound of life. No chirping of birds. No rustling of squirrels as they run across the forest floor. And of course, there is the fact that I can barely see what's in front of me. That definitely adds to the ominous atmosphere.

Opening my communicator, I debate asking for help. On the one hand, I will be more likely to make it out safe and sound with no lasting injuries if I ask for help. On the other hand, my pride will be shattered if I admit that I got lost out here.

Closing it up again, I continue wandering, hoping that I'm heading towards civilization instead of away from it. I walk for who knows how long until suddenly, I hear a familiar shuffling sound.

"Zombies," I mutter under my breath. "They're always out there."

I take out my sword and shield, settling into a stance that False taught me a while ago. Running through all of her instructions, I remember her warning.

_Whatever you do, don't let yourself get hit by a mob. I don't know why, but there's code from Evil Xisuma's most recent attack that Xisuma hasn't been able to fix for whatever reason, and it makes mobs much more deadly. Please, whatever you do, don't get hurt._

Two things struck me at the time: One, she called X Xisuma. No odd nicknames or pronunciations, just dead serious tone. Secondly? The regret written across her face as she ended the instructions with a plea. I decide to take her warning seriously.

Looking up, I can barely make out the horde, slowly moving towards me. There's a _lot_ more than I thought. This could end badly. But I won't let it. I begin to cautiously step back, trying to give myself more distance as I take note of my equipment.

I hear a growl, and manage to raise my shield just in time to see a zombie slash across the rectangular guard. The serrated nails somehow pierce through the wood, but luckily, they got stuck and didn't make contact. I need to be careful and get out of here _now._

Swallowing my pride, I type out a message and hit send, panicking as I hear the previous zombie rearing back for another strike. Pushing off of my heels, I jump out of the way as the creature slams its hand into the ground at the spot where I just was. As it attempts to pull the arm out of the muddy path, I take the opportunity to slash its neck, and it falls to the ground.

_One down, who knows how many more to go. Let's hope help gets here soon._

I run back as the horde continues pushing forward, stepping over the corpse of their fallen comrade. One appears behind me out of nowhere, rushing at unimaginable speeds as I spin on my heels to block the strike. I continue dodging and weaving, trying to stay in the general area as I pray that a hermit sees my message and understands what is happening.

And then I feel it.

A sting on my back, starting at my side but quickly continuing up to my shoulders. At first, it feels like a normal cut, painful but not unbearable. After a moment of peace, however, the webs begin to spread. I can't see them, but I can sense them, sinking into my blood, corrupting where I am struck. I feel darkness begin to overtake my eyesight. I try to stay awake, urging my body to cooperate, but it doesn't listen.

I barely feel the impact against the ground as I fall.

~《◇》~

**Days remaining: 3**

I open my eyes to bright light, searing itself into my vision as I close my eyes again. Wait. My base isn't this brightly illuminated. Where am I? Steeling myself, I cautiously reopen my eyes and look around. The room is fully painted white. There are a few grey cabinets and tables, with medical equipment scattered all over. There's a lot of electronic screens, but I can't see what they are showing. I blurt out the first coherent thought that comes to mind.

"Am I dead?"

I hear a sudden gasp followed by the sound of rushing footsteps.

"Cleo? You're alive?"

"Am I though? I mean, I feel alive, but I have no clue what hell feels like so ..."

Looking up, I see that the voice is Stress. I smile, and after a second, she smiles back. She then steps away and I take a closer look around me. I realize that I'm hooked up to a vast variety of machines. With that thought, I suddenly am _very_ aware of how much everything hurts.

"There's something wrong, isn't there?"

"What do you mean love?"

"Everything hurts. I can see you looking at some sort of screen with concern. And there's that whole terrifying warning that False gave me about not getting hit by a mob back when she was training me?"  
  


"Oh no, I haven't even thought about how this will affect False," I hear her mumble under her breath.

"Ok look. Clearly, there's something wrong, tell me, or I will break your legs."

I'm sure she knows that I can't actually do so. I'm not even sure I can sit up without dying of pain. But, she seems to still be debating telling me. She's fidgeting with her hands and looking through the different screens.

"Ok, so, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have three days left to live."

"Wait- How, why, what-"

  
I stare at Stress, speechless.

"Well, you aren't _dying_ per se, this part of Xisuma's explanation confused me. But I think you're turning into a zombie and lose all of your free will and will just go feral?"  
  
"I-"

"Ok you know what I'm just going to give you some medicine and we're going to try to see if we can delay this."

"You can't just move on past that without an explanation Stress! What am I supposed to do?"  
  
She hands over a potion and waits for me to take it. "That should dull the pain love. As for your question, live your final days to the fullest! You're running out of time, so you might as well make your final moments count."

"I'm not sure I can do that." _How am I supposed to relax when I know that I'm running out of time? That when that time is up, I'm going to be out there hurting my friends, causing this same fate to them_ , I want to say, but then stop myself. I'd sound too much like Joe.

"Ok, well, either way, you'll need to stay here for at least another hour love. There are a few more potions you need to take, but I need to brew them first. Just stay still for a bit," and she exits the room, leaving me alone.

Of course, I do the one thing Stress told me not to do and move, trying to get a look at the wound. As I try to do so, I feel a pang of pain and have to grit my teeth to not yelp in pain. I am rewarded for my efforts, as I can get a clear view of the wound on my shoulder.

I immediately regret that decision as I see what it looks like. A row of three slashes, with clotted blood, climbs down from my shoulder down to my back. The edges of the skin look ripped off, and I remember the impact of the claw on my shield. No wonder everything hurts so badly.

The more worrying part of the wound, however, is the black spiderwebs that have already crawled up to my neck. If I focus, I can feel that shoulder changing, almost corrupting itself, as whatever glitch is causing all of this is making its way through my body. That is enough confirmation for me that I am running out of time. And I'm running out of time fast.

Shifting back to my original position, I decide to take Stress's advice. I'll probably spend half of today with her, just doing whatever she wants to do. The other half, I should check on False - we haven't chatted in a while, plus, I should try to understand why Stress is so worried about her reaction to this news. I'll try to comfort her, although that isn't my strong suit. The second day I'll spend with Joe. There will be a lot to catch up on.

I still can't believe that this is what's happening. 3 days to live, and then, a cursed half-life doomed to hunt my former friends. Or maybe there's another option ...

A plan formulates in my mind. I can't tell anyone, cause they'll talk me out of it. It's not fully formed, but I know two things I'll need to do. First of all, on the 3rd day, I'll get somewhere far far away from the server, in case things fail. Secondly? I'll kill myself after I turn. It'll probably be a simple redstone contraption that even _I_ could handle making, like a pressure plate I won't activate while still being conscious, but one that I would step on trying to get out.

Before I can figure things out more, Stress returns carrying two potion bottles. Has it already been an hour? Apparently so, as Stress passes the bottles and explains, "Just drink these both and you're free to go love! Any plans?"

I drink the potions and slowly get up. There's still a bit of pain, but it's dulled for the most part. "I actually do have plans. Would you mind if I spent the morning with you?"

"Of course I wouldn't mind! Actually, this would be helpful, I need to go gather potion ingredients and would love some help."

"Sure!"

I walk over to the door, before looking back. "So, are we going? Or are you just gonna stand there?"

"I'm coming love, but I need to get my list of what I need to collect."  
  
I fidget on my feet, suddenly very aware of how much time I have left. It almost feels like there's a ticking clock in my ears, quietly counting down. I wait, trying very hard not to think about death or murder or any of that stuff.

After what feels like forever, Stress comes over, holding a small piece of paper. "Ok, I don't have much, these will take some time to gather. It's not going to be dangerous, just time-consuming due to how much I need. Glowstone dust, sugar, and netherwart. I have a netherwart farm set up, perhaps we could start with that?"

We wander over to the nether portal, grabbing some glowstone dust as Stress leads us deep into the Nether.

"How far away is your farm?" I ask.

"Very far, but we're almost there love! Just a bit more."

We reach a portal dug into the side of some netherrack, and cautiously walk through.

Looking around, the netherwart seems to expand far into the horizon.

"Wow, that's a lot of netherwart. This feels like something that should be automated, honestly. "

"Well, it was... Then the redstone broke."  
  
Leaving it at that, we split up and begin to gather the netherwart Stress needs, chatting as we do so. During the periods when we don't talk, I can hear the clock counting down in my head.

I don't like it when it's silent.

During one of these times, I start to think more about the fact that I'm not dying but transforming. And then I'll be doing this same thing to other people. To my _friends_.

Stress's voice snaps me back to the real world. "Huh, it's already evening. Sorry about that love, I thought that this wouldn't take as long as it did. We should probably head back. Two days ..." Her voice trails off, but she doesn't have to continue. We both know what she means.

Two days till I'm gone.

I leave, the nervous thoughts echoing through my head now that there's no one around to distract me from them. The plan solidifies in my mind. I have to die when I turn. There is no other option I can live with.

\--

**Days remaining: 2?**

Last day with other people. Better make it count.

I get out of bed and message Joe.

<ZombieCleo> Hey Joe, want to hang out?

<JoeHillsTSD> Of course, my wonderful friend. I shall convene with you by your base?

<ZombieCleo> Sounds good.

I wait by the portal, the clock in my head ticking louder than ever before. This is it. This is my fate. I've already set up where I'm going to die, I'll just need to get there early in the morning tomorrow.

I hear the familiar sound of a portal activating, and Joe walks out.

This is going to be my last time seeing him. Probably the other hermits too.

I can't do this.

After looking at him, I slump against the frame and crumple into a ball, feeling tears begin to gather.

"Cleo? Are you ok? No wait, that's a bad question, you probably aren't." I hear movement and peek my head out, seeing that Joe has knelt beside me.

"Yeah, I'm not ok. I'm going to die, Joe. I'm running out of time and I can't do _anything_ to stop it, I'm just stuck pretending that things are normal but they aren't normal and there's this clock ticking in my head, just reminding me _hey, you're going to perish soon!_ I can't deal with this anymore Joe." I press my head against my knees.

"How about we can try going and doing something, just try not to worry about that-"

"Joe, I thought you of all people would understand! I can't just _ignore_ it, I can't just _ignore_ the sound of- You know what, I'm going to try a visualization tactic. Maybe that will help you understand.

Imagine you're in a pit. Slick walls, so you can't climb out. Looking through the glass floor below you, you can see lava. All you have with you is a clock. Constantly ticking down. The sound thumping in your ears. At certain times, the clock goes off, and the floor lowers down. And there's _nothing_ you can do. You just watch, starting to feel like a spectator in your own body, cause you can't do anything, nothing _matters_ anymore.

Try to just ignore that, Joe. Try to just not worry about that, Joe." I finish.

He looks at me, pity in his eyes.

After some time, he sits down. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Is there anything you want to do?"

I lean my head on his shoulder. "This is fine, I guess."

We sit there for some time, just talking. It helps a bit. The ticking is still there. But it's a bit quieter.

As Joe goes to leave, I feel a sudden sharp pain in my arm. Then in my legs, spreading to my back.

"Joe!" I scream. "Joe what is happening everything hurts-"

He looks back, and panic flickers across his face.

"Cleo? I think you're turning now. The corruption is climbing up your face, seemingly focused on taking over you. Right now."

\- - -

_Time, I know we're out of time_

I stare at Cleo, she's not turning she's not leaving please no-

_But what if sad thoughts come and I can't stop it_

I've tried to stay positive for her, but I can't. I'm going to be alone, thinking if I could have changed something.

_Bye, I don't wanna say bye_

"Cleo, I don't want you to leave," I state out loud, not bothering with flowery language.

_If only I could keep you in my pocket_

If only there was some way I could keep you safe ...

_To give me some diagnosis of why I'm so hollow_

I just feel like I'm falling apart.

_Please give me instructions I promise I'll follow_

"Is there some way I can help you, Cleo? Please I just want to do one good thing before you're gone."

_I tripped on my ankle and fractured my elbow_

I run over to her as she mumbles something, ignoring the pain from my bruised leg, and injury from a couple of days ago. I slammed it into a wall when I heard about Cleo's condition.

_But doesn't that mean that the tour's gonna sell though?_

"It's going to be fine Joe," she states. "There is one thing that I have to ask though."

_I try to explain the good faith that's been wasted_

"This is probably really selfish of me, I'm sorry,"

_But after an hour it sounds like complaining_

"I just can't live with the thought that I'm going to be out there, hurting people, hurting _you_ , so I need you to kill me."

_Wait don't go away can I lie here forever_

A selfish part of me wanted to believe that maybe, if Cleo was alive, just turned, that she could be cured, but deep down I know that's not the case.

_You say that I'm better, why don't I feel better?_

"It will be better, please Joe."

_The universe works in mysterious ways_

I don't know why fate decided it wants to do this to me.

_But I'm starting to think it ain't working for me_

All I know is that fate is cruel.

_Doctor, should I be good?_

I might as well show kindness when fate doesn't want to.

_Should I be good this year?_

I raise my sword, and with a single strike, kill her. 


End file.
